Title

Rusting of a Metal Nail

Broad Question

Does salt water make nails rust more?

Specific Question

Will salt water or distilled water affect the amount of rust a metal nail will gain?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that a metal nail will rust more in the 3% salt than any other condition.
This is hypothesized because research showed that metal rusts more in salt water than in distilled water.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable: Amount of salt

Dependent Variable:Amount of Rust (gm)

Variables That Need To Be Controlled: Same metal, Nails are same length, Same amount of water, Nail put in at same time, Water is same temperature, Same type of container, Same amount of salt

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

galvanization- object protected by layer of zinc

cathodic protection- supplying an electrical charge to object

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Potential Problems And Solutions

Might not be able to measure rusting
Water might spill
Test subjects are different

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

I might get sea salt in my eye
I might stab myself with nail

Experimental Design

Resources and Budget Table

Object How Many? Where? Cost?
Metal nail 12 Lucy Lumber $1.00

Destilled Water 2 Gallons Hannafords $4.00

Sea Salt 2 House $0.00

Data Table

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AowjDPIoypcSdFdsbTYza1FXM3h0TjNHdVZVdWJaRlE&single=true&gid=0&output=html

Time Line

Complete design and collection of all materials- JBES- March 2

Run a test of the set up-JBES- March 16

Run official trials- Home- April 16- 20

Complete all collection of data- Home- April 21-22

Complete all data analysis- JBES- April 25

Complete results and conclusions- Home/JBES- April 27-30

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General Plan

An experiment was conducted to see whether metal nail rusts more in salt water, or distilled water. First, get distilled water from Hannafords, and then the nails from Lucy Lumber. Then get sea salt and melt it in hot water. That water is to be put into a plastic bottle, and a metal nail is then to be inserted. After, get regular tap water and put it in a plastic bottle. Again, a metal nail should be inserted. Run three tests for each water. Three for salt, and three for tap. Last, observe which one, the salt or distilled, rusted more.

Background Research

• rust is formed by reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water
• other form of rust is formed by reaction of iron and chloride in an environment deprived of oxygen, such as underwater pillars, which forms green rust
• shape of object deforms after rusting
• rust in pipes results in brown or black water
• galvanization- object protected by layer of zinc
• cathodic protection- supplying an electrical charge
• coatings and paintings- isolate rust from other environments
• enough rust can weaken iron, resulting in bridges and iron objects to collapse

__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust__

• rust consists of Iron (III)
• oxide (Fe2O3)
• iron oxide-hydroxide
• oxidation forms the tarnish on silver and the green patina on copper and bronze
• oxygen combines with the iron, and the iron loses electrons
• called oxidation
• water, salt, acids and other chemicals cause iron to rust faster
• called catalysts

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_nails_rust

http://www.ehow.com/about_5139045_nail-rust-fastest.html

Detailed Procedure

1. Get a graduated cylinder and insert either 0,1, 2, or 3 grams of salt
2. Add water into container based on how much salt was added, if 0, add 100 grams, if 1, add 99, if 2, add 98, and if 3, add 97
3. Warm up water so all salt dissolves into the water
4. Pour that water into a new plastic container
5. Weigh all nails before they are put into water
6. Insert a metal nail that is about two inches long into the container with salt
7. Record weight for after experiment
8. Label on containers the weight of nail inside it, the percentage of salt, and what trial it is
9. After 1 week, take all nails out of containers and let them dry
10. After all nails are dry, weigh the nails again
11. Record how much rust was on the nail by finding the difference in mass

Photo List

• Metal nail in 0% salt after experiment
• Metal nail in 1% salt after experiment
• Metal nail in 2% salt after experiment
• Metal nail in 3% salt after experiment

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Results

Four different conditions were run, with three trials each. Rust was measured by massing the nails both before and after the experiment. 0% had .12 gms, 1% had .08 gms, 2% had .11 gms, and 3% had .12 gms.

All Raw Data

Graphs

Photos

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Data Analysis

Conclusion

An experiment was conducted to see how much metal nails rust in salt water. Four different subjects were run, with three trials each. The independent variable was the amount of salt. The dependent variable was the amount of rust. Three with 0% salt and 100% water, three with 1% salt and 99% water, three with 2% salt and 98% water, and three with 3% salt and 97% water. Rust was measured by weighing the nail before and after the experiment. The difference was the recorded, and then averaged. The 0% salt had a mean of 0.12 grams of rust, the 1% had 0.11 grams of rust, the 2% had 0.08 grams of rust, and the 3% had 0.12 grams of rust. The results of the experiment were inconclusive to the question.

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Discussion

An experiment was conducted to see whether metal nails rusted more in salt water, or normal water. The question was somewhat answered. The data collected showed that having more salt water, didn’t necessarily mean more rust. The subject with the least, and most, amount of salt each had the same amount of rust. Besides that first subject that had the least, it showed a continual climb in rust. Research on why a nail might rust more in distilled water was not found. The hypothesis was that a metal nail would rust more in salt water than it would in distilled water.
A couple problems came up while the experiment was being run. On the first test run that was conducted, it was found that after just a few days in the water, a metal nail of the size used would not be able to be weighed well enough by the scale. It only gave one decimal place, and at least two were needed. After a new scale was used, the nail could be weighed correctly. Then, getting the correct amount of salt to water in each test subject was a hassle. The salt would pour out of its container fast, and would spill out onto the ground and into the graduated cylinder, but with the wrong amount. About two or three tries was needed for each test, and it took up a lot of time. To make this experiment better, it should have been started earlier, so that more time could be used to get correct amounts of everything, and let the nails dry longer before weighing them. Also, the time needed for everything to be completed was short, so the experiment was rushed just a small bit, and that could have led to the data being strange.
One piece of technology was needed for this experiment. A scale of a higher caliber was needed instead of the one at school. For this experiment, the nails needed to be weighed having two decimal places, not just one like the old weight had. That scale was crucial for this experiment. Having this data, people should know that building with nails that are non galvanized, and also near seawater, is a hazard. It might rust quickly, and lead to the building to collapse over time. Using galvanized nails can prevent this from happening to a building.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to find how much a metal nail would rust in salt water. The independent variable was the amount of salt. The dependent variable was the amount of rust. A test subject was first run, and it was found that a different scale had to be used than normally, because for this experiment, the nails needed to be weighed using two decimal points, instead of the one like normal. It also found that non galvanized nails had to be used instead of normal ones. First, sandpaper was used to get rid of all the zinc coating on the nails. Three trials were done for each condition of water. 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% salts were used with 100% water, 99% water, 98% water, and 97% water. A metal nail was weighed to find its mass, and then put in a container that had one of the four conditions and water. After one week, the nail was extracted from each of the conditions, and weighed after drying off for about an hour. The mass was recorded and then compared with its mass from before it was put in the salt water. The difference was recorded. 0% salt, and 3% salt, had the biggest difference of .12 grams of rust. The least was 2%, with .08 grams of rust. 1% had 0.11 grams of rust as well.